17 ways to cut your risk of stroke, dementia and depression all at once

A new study identified overlapping factors that affect your odds of developing these brain diseases late in life

- Nina Agrawal

New research has identified 17 overlapping factors that affect your risk of stroke, dementia and late-life depression, suggesting that a number of lifestyle changes could simultaneously lower the risk of all three.

Although they may appear unrelated, people who have dementia or depression or who experience a stroke also often end up having one or both of the other conditions, said Dr Sanjula Singh, a principal investigator at the Brain Care Labs at Massachusetts General Hospital and the lead author of the study. That's because they may share underlying damage to small blood vessels in the brain, experts said.

Some of the risk factors common to the three brain diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes, appear to cause this kind of damage. Research suggests that at least 60 per cent of strokes, 40 per cent of dementia cases and 35 per cent of late-life depression cases could be prevented or slowed by controlling risk factors.

"Those are striking numbers," said Dr Stephanie Collier, director of education in the division of geriatric psychiatry at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. "If you can really optimise the lifestyle pieces or the modifiable pieces, then you're at such a higher likelihood of living life without disability."

Often, the risk factors for these diseases are interconnected, and addressing one — for example, getting more exercise by going for routine walks with a friend can also help you address others, like excess weight and social isolation.

"If you're starting to work on one of them, very often you're actually improving multiple at the same time," Singh said. "That's a great way to start."

Factors that protect against brain disease

The study, which looked at data from 59 meta-analyses, identified six factors that lower your risk of brain diseases:

>> Low to moderate alcohol intake (consuming one to three drinks a day had a smaller benefit than consuming less than one drink a day)